From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:
Back in the 90’s, somebody killed the electric car. They even made a movie about that. But like Frankenstein’s monster (or the many sequels) the electric car is alive and kicking and rolling off the assembly lines of auto makers all around the globe. Here, General Motors is charging in with their Chevy Volt. Good news: with rebates and such the ticket price is around 32K but that’s dropping as technology improves. The bad news: you’ve got to plug it in for eight hours to get a full charge to take you a hundred miles. Just think of it as one huge cordless drill that needs to be charged after every use. What’s the consensus? Would you buy an electric car?
CAN THE CHEVY VOLT RECHARGE GENERAL MOTORSby Brian Dumaine writing for Time Magazine.
The documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? accused General Motors of conspiring with the oil industry and politicians to shelve its popular and promising EV1 in the 1990s. How things have changed. On Wednesday GM unveiled its long-awaited and much-hyped electric Chevy Volt, just one of a fleet of electric cars that will soon be whirring through your neighborhood.
These battery-powered vehicles, charged in your wall outlet like some oversized cordless power tool, will revolutionize not only the auto industry but also the way Americans live and drive. At least that’s what major automakers are betting billions on. Tesla’s high performance 1,000 roadster is already the must-have toy for Silicon Valley boys. This fall, more-affordable cars will roll out. GM’s Volt will sell for about ,000, with federal tax rebates that knock the price down to ,500. Around the same time, Nissan will begin selling its all-electric Leaf, a ,780 compact that the Japanese carmaker says will average 100 miles on a charge, and Daimler will lease an all-electric version of its Smart Car. Not to be outdone, BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Mitsubishi, among others, will have electric models within a year or so. Even Toyota, long a proponent of hybrids, announced in May a venture with Tesla to develop electric-car technology in California. Read More...